Emporia State professor earns national award

January 30, 2012

Dr. Joe Yanik, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics at Emporia State University, was awarded a certificate for meritorious service from the Mathematical Association of America.

The award was presented Jan. 5 during the 2012 Joint Mathematics Meeting in Boston, Mass. According to information from the MAA, the award is presented for service at the national level or to a Section of the group.

According to information from the MAA, Yanik has been an active member of the Kansas Section for more than 20 years and has served as secretary-treasurer since 2006.

“As secretary-treasurer, Yanik has been the backbone of the Section leadership, providing a sense of continuity and wisdom that helps keep the Section running smoothly, even as the other officers come and go,” stated the MAA news release. “Joe cheerfully agrees to serve in any way asked of him, as well as on his own initiative.

“Joe also serves on the Committee on Sections, which has indirectly benefitted the Kansas Section in several ways,” the release continued. “In particular, he recognized a number of ways that our Section could improve, which inspired him to spearhead a review of the Section bylaws ahead of the schedule required by the national office. He chaired the committee that drafted new bylaws that will hopefully be put into place soon.”

Yanik also is helping plan an upcoming regional meeting the Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska/SE South Dakota Sections. Other roles within the MAA include serving as associate editor of LOCI and serving on the Committee on the Teaching of Undergraduate Mathematics.

Yanik joined the faculty of Emporia State in 1990 along with his wife, Betsy, also a professor in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Economics at Emporia State University. The two met in graduate school at the University of Kentucky. They have two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary.